


goodbye

by huntressreyna



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Character Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Hurt, Other, Pain, Piper McLean & Leo Valdez Friendship, Sad Leo Valdez, The Burning Maze (Trials of Apollo) Spoilers, The Trials of Apollo Spoilers, it's just lots of pain, my rewrite of the burning maze/jasons funeral, the lost trio
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-25 10:20:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30087603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/huntressreyna/pseuds/huntressreyna
Summary: (The Burning Maze Spoilers):"Leo Valdez has known loss. He’s known pain, all kinds of pain: physical, mental, the pain of losing a loved one. It was so strong that it turned and twisted his stomach in knots, making him feel physically ill."or,my rewrite of what happened after Leo finds out Jason died.
Relationships: Jason Grace & Piper McLean & Leo Valdez, Piper McLean & Leo Valdez
Comments: 1
Kudos: 14





	goodbye

**Author's Note:**

> hey everyone! thanks for choosing to read this!! i wanted to do my own rewrite of the end of the burning maze/ the tyrants tomb and Jason's funeral scene. RR just kind of dropped the ball on it, especially when he didn't include Leo and Piper attending Jason's funeral. Anyways, so this will mostly be a sad/hurt fic and I hope you enjoy my vision.

Leo Valdez has known loss. He’s known pain, all kinds of pain: physical, mental, the pain of losing a loved one. It was so strong that it turned and twisted his stomach in knots, making him feel physically ill. He almost throws up,  _ almost _ . But he swallows and takes a deep, shaky breath. He stares at the plane and knows Jason’s body is in there. Laying lifeless, pale, damaged. And briefly he feels angry, he practically sets his whole body on fire, but he doesn’t. Instead, he drops to his knees. He sobs. Piper is suddenly by his side, holding him to her chest and they’re crying together. 

He was taken back to the day when he was eight years old and woke up in an ambulance. _ The paramedic said, “You’re lucky to be alive. The fire started where you were standing but we couldn’t figure out what started it.” _

_ Leo had trouble breathing, they had him connected to oxygen. His big brown eyes began to waver and he looked at the paramedic who was making sure to keep him stable. “Where’s my mommy?” He croaked.  _

_ The man’s face fell and he looked at his partner before back at Leo. “She didn’t make it, kid. I’m so sorry.” _

_ And Leo felt a hollow presence in his chest that he never experienced before. A strong ache that churned his organs. He turned his head to the side and threw up, beginning to cry. “No, no, no,” he begged, “She’s alive! Tell me she’s alive please! My mommy has to be alive.” The paramedic gave him a sympathetic look and didn’t say anything. He continued to cry and cry until he fell asleep. When he woke up the next time, he was in a hospital room connected to a bunch of fluids and needles that he didn’t know the purpose of. Briefly, he didn’t remember what happened, but then it hit him all over again like a train going full speed and ramming straight i _ _ nto his heart. He could hear voices outside his room and could tell that it was his Aunt Rosa by the sound of her voice. It was hushed, but angry. _

_ “Ay Carlos, escúchame,” she hissed to his uncle, “Leo es el diablo. No puede quedarse con nosotros.” (Carlos, listen to me. Leo is the devil. He can’t stay with us) _

_ “Rosita, he’s a kid. A baby! What are you going to do?” Carlos whispered back. _

_ “He’s not my kid! Esperanza is dead. I’m calling a social worker tomorrow.” _

_ “Rosa,” Carlos practically growled, “Esperanza te nombró la madrina.” he paused to emphasize his words, “Eres la madrina de Leo. Prometiste que lo cuidarías si algo pasó a ella ¿y ahora quieres ponerlo en un hogar de acogida?” (Rosa, Esperanza named you Leo's godmother. You promised you would take care of him if something happened to her. And now you want to put him in a foster home?) _

_ “Sí,” She replied plainly, crossing her arms. Carlos opted not to say anything else and walked away angrily, knowing there was no arguing with her. _

_ Leo closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep when he heard the door creak open, but there were still tears staining his cheeks and his mind was racing now. Foster home? He didn’t know what a foster home was, but it didn’t sound good. His aunt sounded mad at him and it made him feel guilty, like it was his fault although he couldn’t remember what happened.  _

_ “It should’ve been you,” She seethed into his ear, like she was trying to get the message across into his subconscious while he was “asleep.” _

Leo snapped himself out of his memory from that point on because even though his tía Rosa blamed him, wished he was dead, and sent him to foster care, he found a silver lining in all of it. If he hadn’t been sent from home to home he never would’ve been to that Wilderness school in California where he met Piper when he was fourteen. They never would’ve had fake  memories of Jason when they were sixteen which led them to go on a quest to defeat Gaea, and ultimately avenge his mother. Most importantly in Leo’s mind, if none of that happened when he was a kid, he never would’ve found his family.

But here he was, sobbing, holding onto Piper like she was a life ring. And Jason’s body was in that plane that was getting ready for take off. Lester and Meg were staring at them sympathetically, but they stayed quiet, allowing the two to grieve. The last time Leo saw Jason was months back… nearly a year.

_ ‘“Hey,” Leo grinned, “I told you I had a plan. When are you going to trust me? And by the way — I love you guys.”’  _

Those were his last words to Jason. He never had the chance to see him one last time before he was killed. They never got to have a reunion. He never got to hug him again, or annoy him or call him “Sparky”. He didn’t get to hang out with him and Piper one last time before Caligula killed him. He was eighteen. He didn’t have a chance to live. He didn’t have a chance to fall in love and grow up and get married and live his life with his friends. Leo and Piper could no longer be apart of his life. His life was gone. Taken. Stolen. Stolen when he was destined to do great things.

“It hurts so bad,” He whispered, not knowing what else to say.

“I know,” Piper sniffled, hugging him tighter, “I know.”

Finally he wiped his eyes, deciding he was going to try and get ahold of himself. He needed to get home, at least for a week before he could come back for the funeral. He didn’t know when that would be but he trusted Lester to let them know. He wanted to say his final goodbye and honor him, the way he deserved. 

“Tell us your news,” Piper said to him softly.

Leo blinked, he forgot he even had things to share. He came down onto the runway with Festus excited, cracking a joke, asking for tobacco for Festus. Everyone stared at him blankly and he knew something was wrong. That’s when Piper told him. He forgot all about what he was going to tell them.

“Um,” he choked back another sob, “I was able to get to Camp Jupiter in time and warn them about the attack. The camp is pretty destroyed and lots…” he trailed off looking at the airplane carrier where Jason’s body was, “Lots of good people died. But Reyna, Frank, and Hazel are all okay.”

The pilot interrupted them, letting Piper know it was time to take off. They watched as Lester and Meg boarded the plane before discussing their own travel plans with Coach Hedge and Mellie. Leo offered to take Piper to Oklahoma on Festus while the others drove the yellow Pinto there. They didn’t mind the road trip, but Piper told them to drive safely before getting on the bronze dragon with Leo. 

They flew together in silence. Leo was still processing everything, like he couldn’t believe Jason was dead, even though he knew he was. He didn't want to believe it. And the more he thought about it the more his stomach did flips and contorted into knots. The more he thought about Jason, the more he regretted. He regretted not immediately going to see Jason when he landed with Calypso. He regretted not being able to say goodbye one last time, at least while he was alive. And he knew Jason was going to end up in Elysium, but that didn’t ease the pain. He wasn’t sure if anything could ease the pain of losing his best friend, his brother, someone who stood by him when he had no one else. They landed in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. From what Piper told him, he knew it was a Cherokee capital and many indigenous peoples from that tribe lived there. Street signs were written in English and in the Cherokee language with the pronunciation  of the words underneath. It was Piper’s home now. The town was beautiful, historic, and surrounded by nature. The house that Tristan Mclean owned was in a small neighborhood, it was quaint with a backyard that led into the woods and a view of a nearby creek.

“You wanna stay?” Piper asked softly. Her short, choppy hair was windblown from the ride on Festus. Her cheeks were pale and blotchy, her eyes swollen and red reflecting the green from the lawn in front of her house. Leo didn’t look much better, his own eyes were puffy and he felt like if he spoke, he would break down again.

“Is that okay?” Leo asked, “I won’t stay for long. Maybe just until…”

“His funeral?” She guessed.

He nodded, “Yeah, and then I can get back to Indianapolis afterwards.”

Piper grabbed his hand and pulled him into a hug, pressing her face into his shoulder. He held onto her tightly, doing the same. He didn’t want to lose her too and he felt like if he let go now, she would disappear too. Then his whole family would be gone again and he’d be lost forever. But Piper was right there, holding onto him tightly and he was crying into her shoulder again.

“You’re getting my shirt full of snot. Gross,” She mumbled against his shoulder.

“So are you,” Leo said back and the two shared a smile before pulling away. “Jason wouldn’t want us to be crying like this, would he?”

Piper shook her head, wiping her eyes, “I don’t think so,” She looked over at Festus before back at Leo, “Any chance you can fold him up into a suitcase again so we can bring him inside?”

Leo chuckled sadly and nodded, “Yeah. Wouldn’t want the neighbors seeing a giant bronze dragon in your front yard.”

It took a few minutes, but he managed to get Festus squared away into a heavy bronze suitcase, and with Piper’s help they dragged it inside. Piper’s home was small, one story and two bedrooms with one bathroom. There was a layer of dust covering photos on the wall and fireplace and the furniture, like it hadn’t been lived in for years.

“Wow,” Leo said, looking around at the photos hung up on the wall. There were plenty of Piper from when she was younger, maybe four or five, a big smile on her face with most of her teeth missing, sitting on an older gentleman’s lap who looked similar to her father.

“That’s me and grandpa Tom,” She said, noticing the picture Leo was looking at. “We all lived here. He taught me a lot, but then when he died…” Piper sighed softly, “I forgot. And my dad disconnected from the tribe. Became a famous movie star.”

Leo wrapped an arm around her, “Imagine if he didn’t,” his eyes scanned the other photos on the wall, most of them were Piper with her dad or grandfather, but there were a few family photos of others he didn't recognize. “We would’ve never met.”

“Very true,” Piper half-smiled, looking over at Leo. “C’mon, I have something to show you.”

He followed her outside to the backyard and around the side of the house. Attached to the siding was a rope ladder, that looked dangerously close to snapping from being exposed to the weather over the years. But Piper began to climb and Leo shrugged, following after her. She balanced on the roof, leading him out to the middle before taking a seat. He sat next to her and looked out ahead of him, seeing nothing but trees and the creek. He could hear faint chirps of birds and crickets and the sound of running water. Above them, the sun was beginning to set. He felt at peace, at first, then the ugly feeling began to settle inside him once more. Burning him up inside and out, making his stomach hurt.

“When we thought you died,” Piper began, hugging her knees to her chest. “We sat on the roof of his cabin. He told me I should believe you were alive even though Nico felt your death. It was hard because… I watched you explode into a ball of fire. But he reminded me I had to believe you were alive. And so I did. We spent every night talking about you and our adventures together. I told him about how we met at the Wilderness School, before Jason was thrown into our lives. He let me talk and talk about how we would be terrible to the teachers and sneak out late at night and get detention almost every week. Or that time the trash can exploded into fire and we were both so scared, but now it makes sense…” She stared out at the creek, her eyes brimming with tears. “I don’t know why I’m telling you this, I just feel like you should know how much Jason loves you. And how he thought so highly of you.”

Leo’s bottom lip quivered and usually, he would've said something like  _ oh so you guys do love me?  _ Or  _ I guess I am that awesome that you couldn’t help but talk about me _ with a snarky smirk or smile, and they would laugh. He couldn’t do it. He just felt like his world was crumbling and crashing down on top of him. “I didn’t get to say goodbye,” Leo whispered after a minute. “I didn't get to see him one last time.”

“We were told so many times about the risks and yet I never pictured Jason dying,” Piper nodded.

Leo crossed his arms over his chest. The sun had set and the sky was dark blue, the moonlight reflected off the creek in the distance. “He did what Jason always did,” he paused to take a deep breath, “he saved the day.”

Piper looked over at him and took his hand, squeezing it tightly. They spent the rest of the night talking, reminiscing, honoring Jason’s memory together.

And a few days later, Leo and Piper were back at Camp Jupiter for Jason’s funeral. Leo felt lost, like he was eight years old all over again in that ambulance. He wasn’t, he was seventeen at a Roman funeral for his best friend. Someone who was so close to him, he considered family. Someone so noble and caring, he would do anything to save everyone else, even if it meant his own untimely death.

He’s gone. Lost. And Leo wasn’t sure that hole he felt in his heart, the emptiness in his body would ever heal. But he made a promise to himself that day, to always honor Jason Grace.

**Author's Note:**

> hey all! hoped everyone liked this!! i really appreciate kudos/comments. you can follow me on twitter @sapphicspiper !! love you all MWAH <3


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